-- are entries with two-word squares giving up TRICK or TREAT one way or another!

The New York Times is doing a bang-up job of Halloween and it‘s adjuncts, with yesterday’s Ghost puzzle(yesterday was Ghost Day, a sort of Halloween-een) and on Sunday, the Acrosticwas on the topic of All Saint‘s Day, which is November 1st -- the major reason that Halloween exists. An excellent trio of crossword puzzles -- but wait, All Soul‘s Day is November 2nd! Will Will will us a fourth on the 1st or the 2nd? No matter, this puzzle and the previous two are treasures! Thank you!

Tricks:STPAT and RETS (they almost work without the “trick” or “treat”); XAXES(17A Some horizontal lines);OPED (21D Like some columns);QUEENED(28A Promoted, as a pawn);HOAXES(45A Some urban legends) crossed with JINXED(34D Having bad luck, say);CARDTRICK, this wanted to be “MAGIC”; WKRP(6A Johnny Fever’s workplace, in 1970s- ‘80s TV) and MSRP(10A Amt. at a car dealership).

Treats:OPAL (19A Birthstone of someone born on Halloween);MUUMUU(24D Hawaiian dress) and OAHU (63A Honolulu’s home),who can forget a trip to Hawaii? ; DEION(48D Two-sport Sanders), a cool name; WOLFED(6D Gobbled up, with “down”), they‘ll be out tonight!; “Choosy moms chooseJIF” (34A); “…ANDAbottle of rum” (55D);RAW(41D Uncooked) and RARE(41A Red in the middle); and last but not least, RedSOX (3D) with Ride thePINE(sit out a baseball game)(39A) -- am I wrong, or does that bring up an image of a World Series celebration interrupted by an A-Rod report?!

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

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Ghosts are in season! MAKESABOOBOO(57A Misspells, say, as a ghost might at 20-, 28-, 37- and 50-Across?), along with HUMPBACKWAIL(20A Scary sound from the ocean?),BATTLECREAK(28A Scary sound from a war zone?),FARMGROAN (37A Scary sound from a cornfield?), and BELLANDHOWL (50A Scary sound from a steeple?) are the inter-related entries to prove it!

Word-wise, the five entries constitute synonym for an error and four homophones -- read humpback whale, Battle Creek, farm grown, and Bell & Howell -- for a clever play on words, just in time for Halloween. Strangely, I found 57A to be the last entry uncovered, as it is intended to also be a clue for 20A, 28A, 37A, and 50A. Oh well, everyone has their own personal hole in their brain!

The remainder of the puzzle is haunted by entries seven squares or less with ARDEB(40D Egyptian dry measure equal to about five-and-a-half bushels) and BARB (60D Part of a fishhook) having made it difficult to find the BOOBOO!

The countdown to the end -- Seven squares:MACHETE (3D Cane cutter);UNAIDED (11D Helpless?);REPLETE(12D Filled to the gills); EARMARK (42D Tag for a particular purpose);CROATIA(43D Neighbor of Slovenia); and POBOXES(46D Co. addresses, often).

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

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It’s Monday, the weekend flew -- we need a special clock for the start of the work-week, one that serves double duty -- showing where did the time go, and what is ahead.

In today’s crossword four entries serve double duty : ...GENE...RATION(17A Allotment of heredity units?) without the space is, of course, GENERATION with no clue. ...FORE...STATION(10D TV channel for golfers?), becomes FORESTATION of the eco type. ...CARBO...NATION(25d Pasta-and-potato-loving country?) is CARBONATION, and the amusing REV...ELATION(56A Preacher’s sky-high feeling?) aptly reads REVELATION. Very simple and simply very cool!

Now about that clock in the picture above -- in a comment this weekend, I was asked what something that I wrote had anything to do with the crossword puzzle at hand -- well, nothing! In this case, it’s just the kind of clock I’d like to answer to on Monday, instead of that mean-looking thing at the office!

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

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It‘s the end of October, bringing Halloween and the first day of November which is All Saint‘s Day, and this Sunday’s acrostic puzzle quotation is timely.

“…the wonderful thing about saints is that they were human. They lost their tempers, got angry, scolded God, were egotistical or testy or impatient in their turns, made mistakes and regretted them. Still they went on doggedly blundering toward heaven.” -- Phyllis McGinley, “Saint Watching”

There is some alteration to this quote in today’s acrostic, most notably a substitution of the word “hungry” for “angry”, and the usual omissions for the purpose of their use in the acrostic:

The quotation: THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT SAINTS IS THAT THEY WERE HUMAN THEY LOST THEIR TEMPERS GOT HUNGRY SCOLDED GOD WERE EGOTISTICAL OR TESTY MADE MISTAKES AND REGRETTED THEM STILL THEY WENT ON DOGGEDLY BLUNDERING TOWARD HEAVEN

PUNNEDIT(84D. What the puzzlemaker did to the name in each of this puzzle's theme answers?)

FRANKENSENSE(25A. Al's impressions?)

WHYPAYMAHER(27A. "What did Bill do to earn this check anyway?"?)

LIFEOFOREILLY (48A. Bill's biography?)

YOUREGETTINGCOULTER(64A. "And tonight's guest is ...Ann!"?)

DOTHELIMBAUGH(77A. Dance like Rush?)

DONAHUEDARE(104A. Phoning Phil and hanging up immediately?)

IMUSBEOFFNOW (106A. Don's party words?)

A quotation from Ben Tausig, this Sunday's "puzzlemaker" -- "Here is the dirty secret of crosswords: They are made by human beings. We stash our friends’ names in grids, allude to our lives and pull theme ideas from drunken conversations at the bar. The last has actually happened numerous times; I keep a black pen in my pocket and write reminders on my hand. Once, I thought of a puzzle about being underemployed while biking home from my then-job as a barista at a kitschy dessert café in Hell’s Kitchen, New York." -- "The Puzzler Laid Bare" by Ben Tausig, BAY WEEKLY, Volume 15, Issue 13, March 29 - April 4, 2007.

The closing lines of "Long Distance Call" from the Twilight Zone -- "A toy telephone, an act of faith, a set of improbable circumstances, all combine to probe a mystery, to fathom a depth, to send a facet of light into a dark after-region—to be believed or disbelieved depending on your frame of reference. A fact or a fantasy, a substance or a shadow, but all of it very much a part...of the Twilight Zone."

I'm all for a good connection -- but in this new day of the cellphone, it becomes difficult to decipher sanity. It seems that in this case, the "puzzlemaker" phoned in the puzzle and fled on his bicycle to other more important things in a world beyond the Twilight Zone!

I understand this mélange of puns -- "pundit","frankincense", "why pay more?", "life of Riley", ""you're getting colder", "do the limbo", "don't you dare", and "I must be off now", but what? Are we talking to ourselves here? Are we even connected? Flashing through my mind are those advertisements on network television where the caller loses contact and everything just sounds so bad! Or worse yet, the rush hour on the Long Island Railroad where "Honey, I'm home!" has become the tepid "Honey, I'm almost there..."

This is a free call!

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

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EXQUISITECORPSE(39A Classic laugh-inducing parlor game with writing or illustrations), slicing across the center of this crossword puzzle, is as good a way to describe many a crossword as any -- and for certain, this puzzle is exquisite!

Consequences is an old parlor game similar to the surrealist game exquisite corpse or Mad Libs in which players write in turn on a sheet of paper, fold it to conceal part of the writing, and then pass it to the next player for a further contribution.

MARKCUBAN(1. Billionaire sports entrepreneur who heads HDNet) at the top, and TOMATORED(65A What green might ripen into) at the bottom, with the in-between populated by elves, photographers, musicians, a marathon runner, vintners, engineers, college students, Shiites, heavyweight sumo wrestlers, an actress, a playwright, a band, a cook, an author, a film director, and religious fundamentalists hanging out for assembly. Plenty of fodder to play the game!

Dr. Seuss’s “Too Many DAVES” (25A) will need the READINGRAILROAD(32A) as a VEHICLE(21D). If they RSVPD(62), did they ASKTO (48D) be ILLATEASE (13D)ATANYTIME (15A), if so, it’s time to COUNTONESLOSSES (40A)TAKEN (41A) while waiting for GODOT(45D). Enough of FLIPFLOPS(12D) and EXOTICISM(33D), grab your CAMERABAG(17A), it’s time to ORIENTATE (63A) to the SALOONS (26D), so splash on some AQUAVELVA (34D) and SPAN (22A) the AREA (19A) to find what DONTIKNOW(58A). A MACAW(1D) in anAMANA (8D) is NYSYNC(14D), so DIGIN(25D) and solve this mischievous dog (37D AESOP) or EMOTE(50D) to the WINDS (23A) in ANSONIA(29D) or ELORO(45D).ROLLS and ROILY(16A and 18A) (almost an auto), NEGEV and NEV (7D and 20A);HAI and HAILE(28A and 30A);AMATI and ATARI(64A and 2D) are the non-identical twins of the day. Little bits and pieces: CYR, UTA, BIB, ERR, LOOS, REC, DES, SDI, NIM, TEA, FTC, OEN, CIV, AOL, all of which you can DUNK (35D) with the SIGEP(44A) who ACED (52A) while smoking a SALEM(47A) -- why that makes no sense at all!!!

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

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Using a nearly identical grid as the ones he used for the NYTIMES(64A Crossword source since 1942: Abbr.) on May 5, 2007; May 18, 2007; and with Brendan Emmett Quigley on October 6, 2007, this puzzle's constructor seems to be getting the hang of it. His signature negativism, liberal use of initials, and the inclusion of a minimum of one unpleasant personality, in this case YOKOONO(2D Poem reader at the 2006 Olympics opening ceremony) crossed by TOTO (22A Miss Gulch biter), has at least taken on a bit of humor.

NETFLIX(39D Modern rental option) returns from October 6th, then clued as Blockbuster alternative; sharing its X with NEXTEL(63A Sprint acquisition of 2005) and joining other corporate entries, the previously noted NYTIMES, along with PGATOUR(19A Driving distance is a concern in it);TGIFriday’s (60D); ETICKET(61A Terminal timesaver); and MYSPACE(1A News Corporation-owner Web site that’s one of the 10 most visited sites in the world)-- if that’s not an advertisement, what is?

Initializations, including the above ETICKET, NYTIMES, PGATOUR, and TGIFriday’s, are VCR(46A Taper);KRATION(59A Former field food);SILENTC (11D Center of Connecticut);UCLA(40D Sch. whose colors are “true blue” and gold); and SWF(10D Abbr. in personal ads). Abbreviation -- STDENIS(44D Burial place of many French kings) and MRSLATE(38D Cartoon boss working at a quarry).

Clever cluing -- “Cab,” e.g. (15A REDWINE); What the key of D minor has (17A ONEFLAT); Driving distance is a concern in it (19A PGATOUR); Get a handle on? (29A TITLE); Gives a little, say (41A TITHES), even though 10% is not just a “little”; Wedding concern (45A DRESS); Little women (13D PETITES); It’s value is in creasing (62A ORIGAMI); Ones paid to conceive? (37D IDEAMEN); and Not yet 58-Down (55A WAIT) along with See 55-Down (58D ACT). A clue for clue’s sake is He wrote “It’s certain that fine women eat / A crazy salad with their meat” (27D YEATS).

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

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"To Trust is good; not to trust is better,"an "Italian proverb"constitutes five inter-related entries -- ITALIAN(16A With 55-Across, description of 23-, 36- and 44-Across);PROVERB (55A See 16-Across);TOTRUSTISGOOD(23A Beginning of some folk wisdom);NOTTO (36A Folk wisdom, part 2); and TRUSTISBETTER(44A End of the folk wisdom) -- the clues redefining "proverb" as "folk wisdom".

Other quotes: “Thou art not lovelier thanLILACS, no" (Millay sonnet start) continues HERE. “IVANTto be alone” (words attributed to Greta Garbo) is properly clued as “attributed” -- for what she really said, HERE (paragraph “Private Life“) --“I want to be let alone.” (she did, however, speak the line as the aging, suicidal, isolated, fragile, and lonely-for-love Russian ballerina named Grusinskaya in the 1932 film "Grand Hotel" ) -- of course, to ever be quoted correctly is a PIPEDREAM(10A Bit of wishful thinking). More conversation is had with "...LETNOman put asunder" (wedding words) (1D), along with THERE(46D When doubled, comforting words) and PRATTLEON(32D Talk, talk, talk).

Of interest also are the entries of INTAGLIO(8D Incised printing method);DEVILLE(13A Cadillac model);ATROPHY(17A Wither);GILBERTS(27A Pacific islands in W.W. II fighting with “the”);HughCAPET, successor to Louis V as king of France (30A);TOREROS(59A Corrida combatants);ANTLER(62A Makeshift hatrack);SIXTH (25A The last Pope Paul, e.g.);DONAT(33A Robert of “The 39 Steps”);NONSTICK (36D Teflon, e.g.); and JONAH(39A Biblical prophet thrown overboard by his shipmates) -- all seen in crosswords from time to time

The New York Times Crossword Puzzle solution above is by the author of this blog and does not guarantee accuracy. If you find errors or omissions, you are more than welcome to make note of same in the Comments section of this post -- any corrections found necessary will be executed promptly upon verification.

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